The twin suns shone down upon Mos Espa. The city was bustling with activity, merchants trying to sell their wares, droids hauling large loads, and a stormtrooper patrol here and there.
Despite all the activity, no-one even looked at the Rodian.

Reeko was scared. He had cheated Gadulla the Hutt, and thought he could get away with it. He had learned otherwise. Gadulla had put a price on his head, a price of 10,000 credits! It was enough to draw every bounty hunter on the planet to him. In addition, she had ordered one of her loyal men to find Reeko, and bring her his head. This was the one Reeko was the most scared off. A Zabrak called Jag'Tai Vroenik.

Reeko had met Jag'Tai once. The Zabrak had scared the living daylights out of him. He was an excellent martial artist, an even better shot and seemed to have no compulsions about killing innocents. Or so was his reputation anyway.

Reeko dodged into a doorway, entering a tavern. The barkeep ignored him, as he looked around. There were few guests; two humans who appeared to be smugglers was discussing something. A band of three Sullustan played a tune. Finally, a cloaked figure was sitting in a dark corner. Relieved, Reeko found a corner stall and sat down. Suddenly he felt a sting of immense pain in his gut. As his head dropped towards the table, his last thought was one of wonder...

******

With a loud thumb, the cloth hit the floor. Gadulla watched as one of her bodyguards unwrapped the cloth, revealing the decapitated head of Reeko. She laughed; a low, rumbling sound.

"Well done, Zabrak. You have deserved your reward in full." she said in Huttese. The cloaked figure bowed, took the pouch handed to him and left...

Bit'ela huddled together in a corner in the cheap motel. She wondered how she had ended up here. In her mind, she analyzed the events of the recent weeks.

She had worked in a two-bit repair shop in Mos Eisley on Tatooine. A few weeks ago, the human owner had tried to force himself on her, and she had hit him on the head with a wrench. The same evening, two men had attacked and subdued her, hauling her off to a settlement some way out of Mos Eisley.
The next day, they had sold her to a Weequay, who had fitted her with a slave collar, and put her to work in a small spice factory near Mos Espa.

After a few weeks, she had seen her chance to escape, when the Weequay watching her had fallen asleep with the collar deactivator next to him. She had gotten her hands on a heavy piece of equipment, and bashed his head in. Then she had deactivated her collar, taken the few credits the Weequay had on him, and fled into Mos Espa. There she had found passage to Nar Shaddaa, and checked in on a cheap motel on the Smuggler's Moon.

Unfortunately, the Weequay was a favorite of Gadulla the Hutt, a local crimelord on Tatooine, and she had placed a bounty of 20,000 credits on her head, and sent her favorite bounty hunter, a Zabrak called Jag'Tai Vroenik, after Bit'ela...

A YT-2400 touched down a landing pad. The engines were cut, and after a while a ramp was lowered, revealing two figures.

One of the was a tall Trandoshan. He was lugging around a large blaster rifle, and wore light combat armour. Next to him was a tall - though still rather small compared to the Trandoshan - Zabrak, wearing light combat armour and carrying a blaster carbine and a pair of blaster pistols.

After securing the ship and paying the pad fee, the pair left the space port. They stopped at a corner, a block from the landing pad.

"Ziraax, I'll go down, and you go up. Meet in the usual place in five hours?" The Trandoshan nodded.
"Yes."

With that, Ziraax Shalathan and Jag'Tai Vroenik parted ways to look for their query...

* * * * *

Hunak Ta landed on the floor with a loud bump. He whirled his head, trying to shake off the effects of the blow, and tried to rise, only to have a boot kick him in the face, breaking his nose. He slumped to the ground.

"The woman Bi'tela. You brought her here. Where is she?" The Togruta stared defiantly at the Trandoshan.

"I'm telling you, I don't know."

"Wrong answer." Another kick, this time at his side, broke several ribs. The Togruta groaned.

"She left when we arrived. All I know is that she went down to hide!"

Ziraax studied him, then kicked him again for good measure - breaking another rib - before turning to leave...